How much debt do Coe College psychology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 8th lowest of 15 psychology bachelor's programs in Iowa. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a psychology degree from Coe College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 73% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 78%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 20% or less.

Do Coe College psychology graduates stay in Iowa?

Many leave. 43% (17 of 40) were working in Iowa one year after graduating.

Coe College Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Psychology, General
Private nonprofit college
Cedar Rapids, IA
About 26 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Coe College psychology graduates earn more than graduates of most psychology programs nationally, $37,072 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,624. It is one of the higher-paying psychology degrees in Iowa.

First-year earnings$37,07287th percentile of 875 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$47,76329% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,0008th lowest of 15 Iowa programs

Debt-to-earnings73%Iowa median 78%, national 78%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Iowa and national columns are the medians across all psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Coe College	Iowa	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,072	$34,155	$31,479
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$47,763	$48,150	$49,019
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$27,000	$25,624
Debt as share of first-year pay	73%	78%	78%
Programs compared		15	875

Five years out, Coe College graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the Iowa median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Iowa psychology program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Iowa medians.

Coe CollegeOther Iowa programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 29% between the first and fifth year.

Coe College grads, year 1$37,072

Coe College grads, year 5$47,763

All Iowa psychology grads, year 5$48,150

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned slightly more in their first year than other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$37,960Median debt $27,000

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$36,262Median debt $27,000

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 9.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (59 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	20% or less
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20% or less
In default	20% or less

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

43% of graduates (17 of 40) were working in Iowa one year after graduating. Prices in the Cedar Rapids area are about 11% below the national average, so a $37,072 salary here buys what about $41,671 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

$91,690

Median pay in Iowa. 440 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.

Bottom 10%: $64,200Top 10%: $168,660

Social Science Research Assistants

$40,940

Median pay in Iowa. 140 people work in this job in Iowa. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $22,260Top 10%: $58,470

Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

$193,950

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 300 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About Coe College

Tuition and fees	$54,666 / year
Average net price after aid	$18,745 / year
Admission rate	64%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	66%
Undergraduate students	1,164

Psychology ranks 8th of 9 bachelor's programs at Coe College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($67,769), Accounting ($59,252), and Business Administration ($47,815).

Other psychology bachelor's programs near Cedar Rapids

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Coe CollegeCedar Rapids, IA · private nonprofit		$37,072	$27,000
Mount Mercy UniversityCedar Rapids, IA · private nonprofit	1 mi	$34,536	$26,882
University of IowaIowa City, IA · public	23 mi	$33,057	$24,398
University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA · public	55 mi	$32,673	$22,500
Upper Iowa UniversityFayette, IA · private nonprofit	59 mi	$42,183	$41,478

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,072 one year after graduating and $47,763 five years after. The median across psychology bachelor's programs in Iowa is $34,155.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Iowa comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the psychology program.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Psychology bachelor's programs in Iowa, ranked15 programs by pay and debt Psychology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked875 programs by pay and debt All Coe College programs, ranked9 programs by pay and debt